Georgia Gwinnett College, Arkansas Baptist Advance to CAC Men’s Basketball Championship Final
The cream has risen to the top of the Continental Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship, with No. 1-seed Georgia Gwinnett College and No. 2-seed Arkansas Baptist College advancing to the tournament final after earning semifinal round victories Saturday evening at GGC's Convocation Center.
Georgia Gwinnett College (25-5) scored a commanding 107-78 victory against Fisher College (Massachusetts) in the first game, before Arkansas Baptist (17-9) held on for a thrilling 71-63 victory over Florida College.
With the victories, the Grizzlies and Buffaloes will both be representing the CAC as automatic qualifiers for the NAIA national tournament.
Here are recaps from Saturday's semifinal games:
Semifinal 1: No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett College 107, No. 5 Fisher College 78
The host Grizzlies scored the first eight points of the second half to break away from a 49-40 halftime advantage to defeat Fisher (17-12). Four different players contributed to that offensive streak – just like the strong performances that Georgia Gwinnett College got from throughout the lineup. Seven players posted double-digit performances for the tournament hosts, with four of them coming off the bench to contribute to a balanced scoring attack. Mario Hill Jr. led the way with 17 points while Brasen James had 16 points and Manny Montgomery added 15 points. Meanwhile, Patrick Johnson had a double-double performance with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Jahiem Berry also scored 12 points and Amari Morgan had 10 points. The Grizzlies, winners of 10 straight games, surpassed the 100-point mark for the second straight tournament game and five of their last seven contests.
Allen Lattimore was all over the court, scoring a game-high 23 points to lead the Falcons while Justin Covington and Amari Jamison each contributed 12 points.
Semifinal 2: No. 2 Arkansas Baptist College 71, No. 6 Florida College 63
The Buffaloes made crucial baskets and defensive stops in the final minutes to score the hotly contested semifinal victory against Florida College (10-19). After a 28-27 halftime break, neither team could manage to get more than a seven-point lead in the second half. A 3-point field goal by Ty'Reonn King gave Arkansas Baptist a 37-30 edge in the opening four minutes of the second half. However, the Falcons had reversed things on the scoreboard and took a 38-37 lead after a free throw by Malik Beauford with 14:27 remaining. However, Arkansas Baptist reclaimed the lead 17 seconds later on a layup by King and the team would maintain a slim advantage the rest of the way.
King led the way for the Buffaloes with 21 points while Treylon Swayzer had 12 points in the winning cause.
Meanwhile, Beauford led all scorers with 27 points and Aiden Wall contributed 11 points and Kenny White Jr. had 10 of Florida College's 45 rebounds.